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Cubs, Outfielder Ryan Sweeney Agree To Terms On Two-year Contract

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The Chicago Cubs and outfielder Ryan Sweeney have agreed to terms on a two-year contract that includes a club option for 2016. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Sweeney, 28, batted .266 (51-for-192) with 13 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 19 RBI in 70 games with the Cubs this season. He turned in a .324 on-base percentage and a .448 slugging percentage, good for a .772 OPS. He played 45 games in center field, 10 games in left field and four games in right field, committing only one error in 142 total chances. The left-handed batter excelled against left-handed pitching (.313/15-for-48) and at Wrigley Field (.346/27-for-78) in 2013.

Overall, Sweeney is a career .278 hitter (532-for-1,911) with 115 doubles, 14 triples, 20 home runs and 204 RBI in 605 games covering all or part of eight big league seasons with the White Sox (2006-07), Athletics (2008-11), Red Sox (2012) and Cubs (2013). Sweeney has spent time at all three outfield positions with 322 games in right field, 217 games in center field and 88 games in left field. His .994 fielding percentage ranks fourth-best among all major league outfielders since the start of the 2006 season.

Sweeney went to spring training with the Red Sox in 2013 but was released on March 30. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs on April 3 and batted .337 (28-for-83) with two doubles, two triples, six home runs, 16 RBI and a 1.022 OPS in 23 games with Iowa leading to his May 6 promotion to the Cubs.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Sweeney set several career highs with the Athletics in 2009 when he hit .293 (142-for-484) with 31 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 53 RBI in 134 games. A right knee injury limited Sweeney to 82 games in 2010. Upon his return, he batted .265 (70-for-264) with 11 doubles in 108 games in 2011, his final year in Oakland, and hit .260 (53-for-204) with 19 doubles in 63 games with the Red Sox in 2012.

A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sweeney was originally selected by the White Sox in the second round of the 2003 Draft.